Not My Boyfriend
by mltrefry
Summary: In the aftermath of Van Statten's bunker, Rose finds she needs comfort in company, and not the kind new companion Adam wants to offer. There's only one man she'd trust to ease her discomfort, and it seems he needs her as much as she needs him. A fluffy one-shot.
"So, I think this is your room." Rose said to Adam as they arrived at the door the TARDIS seemed to guide them to.

He didn't hesitate, opening the door and stepping inside as the lights turned on.

The room was sort of nondescript, all things considered. Rose followed him as far as the threshold and looked around as Adam did a cursory glance about. Honestly, it sort of reminded Rose of the cheap motel Jimmy had dragged her to once or twice when he still had roommates and he wanted a quick, loud shag. Adam seemed impressed enough. It was a decent size, sure, but if he knew she walked into something that looked like a five-star hotel until the TARDIS got to know her and made it perfectly Rose.

"Not too bad," Adam commented, smiling at her with the same sort of confidence he had in his work space before the whole situation with the Dalek. "Wanna come in? Bed's quite big for just one."

Rose's stomach did a flop, and she tried her best not to gape at him. She flirted with him a tiny bit to try and get information out of him. Sure he was a bit pretty, as the Doctor pointed out. She may have found him attractive before the whole thing with the Dalek, when he went on about alien tech and sounded so much like the Doctor. Best of both worlds, she'd thought, until she realized how much like Mickey he really was. Quick to save his own skin, and unwilling to hear her out when she _knew_ the Dalek was looking at her different.

She knew what the Doctor implied, right in front of Adam, when she asked if he could come along. Apparently Adam took to thinking that was the reason she wanted him around, too.

"Bit of sprawler, me." Rose replied with a forced grin. "And, anyway, bit knackered from almost dying and all. Just sorta wanna be alone for a bit." She added a bit of truth to that. She wanted a hot shower, with water pressure strong enough to hurt. She wanted to crawl into her jim jams and just be for a bit.

"Well, if you find you need someone, some comfort…."

"Yeah, thanks." She cut him off before he even went there. "'Night, Adam." She said, giving him a little wave before promptly turning and leaving the room before he could reply. When she was a couple steps away from the door, it slammed shut, startling her into a pause. Frowning, she looked over her shoulder at it. Well that was a bit childish, wasn't it?

The TARDIS had moved her room closer, and while it made her a bit uncomfortable being that close to a cocky, self assured bloke like Adam, she was grateful she didn't have to go far.

Safe behind the locked door of her personal bathroom, Rose stripped down and hopped into the shower. The Old Girl, already knowing what Rose wanted, had the water perfect. It pelted her skin, making her back sting as well as reminding Rose how very much alive she was.

It was her own, damn empathy that got her in that nearly killed her. Had she not insisted on going down and stopping the torture of the Dalek, if she hadn't tried to show it comfort when it was dying, the whole day wouldn't have played the way it had.

Tears were falling from her face nearly as hot as the water turning her skin red. The relief in his voice when the Doctor declared her alive, the way he held her tight after the Dalek offed itself, she did that to him. Yes, she knew there was a large part of the Doctor's behavior attributed to the Dalek merely existing. She knew the scars from the Time War was something he tried to keep hidden unless someone stripped him of his defenses and left him exposed. But if she hadn't somehow jump started his greatest enemy ….

Rose turned off the shower, shaking with grief and anger in equal turns.

She roughly dried off, storming into her room and grabbing a pair of pink flannel pj bottoms. She pulled them on after she put on her knickers, then grabbed a baggy black t-shirt she'd found in the same drawer as her bottoms. Once dressed, she paced about the room, rubbing her arms as if she were cold though she still felt warm from the shower.

Images flashed through her mind, of all the men and women who tried to stop the Dalek. She could still he De Maggio's scream as she was killed holding off the Dalek so Rose and Adam could run. And then there was the Doctor once more in her mind, his anger, his fear, his regret.

They hadn't spoken much since they left the bunker. He put them in the vortex, told her to show Adam around, find him a room, and disappeared. He was already drawing into himself when they were heading back to the TARDIS before she brought Adam along. What would happen if he was left on his own too long?

She left her room, surprised to find that her door had been moved again with no sign of Adam's room in sight. Looking up and down the corridor, trying to get her barring as to where she was now, she decided to go left in hopes it would lead to wherever the Doctor was.

"Keep tellin' you, gonna hurt your little human feet walking about like that." His voice came from behind her, and Rose turned to see the Doctor standing with his arms crossed and trying to look imposing, staring down his nose at her. "Where you off an' about dressed like that?"

She looked down in confusion. "Went lookin' for you. 'S just sleep clothes."

"It's my t-shirt," He said, giving a slight gesture to it with his head.

She looked down at it again, this time with a frown.

"Musta got mixed up with mine in the last wash." She said, tugging on it nervously. "Sorry."

The Doctor shrugged. "No bother. Got plenty of 'em, all alike." He said, and she nodded. "So, lookin' for me? Thought you'd be spending time with your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend." Rose replied. "And yeah, went looking for you. I …." Her mouth went dry as words escaped her. She wanted to see him, there wasn't any doubt, but she couldn't articulate why. She looked him over, taking in every detail from the tips of his boots to his barely there hair. His stance remained the same as she took inventory, but his eyes softened even just that little bit more. She adored those eyes, she adored the man who had them. But there was something that shifted within her, had been shifting since "Blimey, you look beautiful", and possibly had finally fallen into place.

"Rose?" Adam's voice echoed down the corridor, and her eyes widened as she met the Doctor's.

He raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback by her obvious discomfort. She wouldn't turn to look behind her, but she shifted her eyes to the side for a second before looking back to the Doctor. He tilted his head toward her door as Adam's voice called for her again, and she eagerly nodded before darting for the door and holding it open for him. The Doctor stepped through, and she followed behind, closing it behind her and sending a mental plea to the TARDIS to lock her door in case Adam saw them.

"You alright?" He asked.

She bit her lip, shook her head as she moved to sit on the foot of her bed. "'M sorry. 'S my fault the Dalek was even able to … do what it did."

"Not your fault." He said sincerely, and Rose had a hard time believing him even with how honest that sincerity was reflected in his eyes. The Doctor moved slowly like he was afraid of spooking an animal. He sat beside her, looking at his hands resting in his lap. "You didn't know, and I shoulda told you more about the war, and what happened. If you knew 'bout it before hand, you wouldn'ta dared be in the same room with it. Woulda known it might do something to manipulate ya."

"How many men died in the bunker?" She asked. "Were a lot that waved Adam and me through. None of them made it, did they?"

" _That_ was Van Statten, _not_ you. And if you wanna place blame, put it on me."

"You couldn't've known what was there." She said. "You not tellin me 'bout your past…."

"But it was more than that." He cut her off, up on his feet and pacing in the space before her. "I shouldn't've let Van Statten send ya off with Adam in the first place. Should've insisted you were there with me. Did some horrible things, me. Before you got there, long before you even knew what was going on, I tortured the bloody thing. Know what else? I liked it. Had I kept my calm, didn't let the rage get to me, coulda just told him what it was and let it go. Dalek was defenseless, then. Tried to exterminate me and couldn't. Was dying, shoulda just let it, but I didn't. Wanted to help it along. And don't say I didn't, 'cause even at the end I was ready to blow it apart. And what's more, even if none o' that coulda been prevented, I still closed the bunker on ya. Coulda held off a few more seconds, given you just that bit longer, but I was scared. I was scared, Rose, because I knew what that thing was capable of. Thinking I lost you, though? That scared me more." He admitted, coming to a stop in front of her, hand resting on his head as if he meant to pull on lengths of hair that weren't there. His eyes were clouded and stormy when he began, but now they glinted and were filled with grief.

She stood up, tentatively putting her hands on his chest in an effort to comfort him as his hands fell to his sides. She frowned, feeling something off beneath her palms. It was rhythm, something that went 1,2,3,4, and a slight pause before resuming. It picked up speed as he hands remained there.

"Your heart beat's a bit off." She said as she figured what it was, but not why it seemed to come from both sides.

"Hearts beat, actually. Two hearts, not off, just not what you're used to." The Doctor explained. "Van Statten pried that out of me, so to speak. Did a scan that felt a bit invasive."

She looked up, unable to believe he was so unperturbed by it. He still looked casual enough about the topic, except his eyes gave him away. She was starting to know him a bit too well.

"Not been a good day for you, has it?" She asked softly.

"Had worse." He countered with a flippant attitude.

"So … what else is different 'bout you? Two hearts, what else? Look so human, I just didn't think …."

"Blood looks a touch different. Not much, mind, just a different shade of red. Probably wouldn't know if I didn't tell ya." He said thoughtfully.

She took his hand, pulled him back toward her bed. "What else?" She asked. "Noticed you're cooler."

"Lower body temp, yes. Superior physiology in that way, don't gotta worry 'bout being too hot or too cold most of the time. Also have a respiratory bypass." He explained as they sat down together. He shucked his jacket, folding it neatly and setting it beside him. She'd seen him without it here and there, but it still struck her as intimate. Almost as if he was allowing her to see him naked.

"Respiratory bypass? Like … you bypass breathing?" She crinkled her brow.

"Sorta, yeah," He replied in that way that always let her know he was glad for her to have figured it out even if he didn't come right out with it. "Can go without air longer than you can. 'S why in the basement with the Gelth, all that gas, you and Charles had to get out but I could stay. Handy trait, that."

"Is … was … was that a thing on your planet?" Rose asked.

"No," He said, toeing his boots off his feet and scooting back on the bed. He laid down on the side Rose never slept on, not really being a sprawler like she'd told Adam. The Doctor tucked on arm under his head and looked to the ceiling. "Gallifreyans, they were nearly exactly like us Time Lords, but we got a few extras when we graduated from the academy."

Rose rolled the information around in her head. He'd talked about his planet after they watched hers burn up. She wanted to have an idea of what it looked like, even if he didn't tell her its name or where it was. She could still picture the silver leaves and deep red grass because of the detail he described it in. She was sure she'd never stick her foot in the sand again without remember the way he said his home was mostly desert outside a citadel encased in a glass dome. But this was a new bit of information. Now, by way of description, she could assume the name of his home planet. And apparently not all of them were Time Lords.

Rose scooted back and stretched out beside him, meeting his eye with a gentle smile. "Were all Gallifreyans telepathic?" She asked.

His eyes lit up when she said the name of the people, his lips turning slightly upward.

"Bit." He replied. He was gentle but firm in his response. They weren't going to talk about the people anymore.

"So, where're we talking Adam in the morning?" She asked, trying a different line of conversation in hopes on keeping the Doctor talking.

He gave it a thought. "Could go forward like you did. Or set the Old Girl to random, that's always fun. Take you some place where you can impress your boyfriend." He said, sounding half like he was teasing.

"Not my boyfriend," She gave him a shove, barely even rocking him. Though, she did get the Doctor to laugh from deep in his chest. "'Sides, next to impossible to impress a genius. I know, been trying to do it for a while now."

The Doctor scoffed. "He's _not_ a genius."

"More clever than me." She countered.

"Oh, 'cause he got his A-levels." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Picked up by a lunatic, because he scored above average? Doesn't make him a genius, Rose. Not by my standards. Need to be able to do a lot more than just read something from a book and remember it." Mischief lit his eyes before the smirk started to form. "Tell you what, where ever we go tomorrow, we'll step out first, get a survey of the place, and I will give you real basic facts. Simple things like the year, the structure, and where to go first, just to make it look like you're more seasoned then you are. And then, _then_ , we'll see how smart your boyfriend thinks he is."

Rose rolled her eyes at the name calling, but she smiled all the same at what the Doctor wanted to do for her. "Sounds brilliant." She said. And then, because she was tired, she curled up against him. "Tell me a story?" She asked as he tensed beside him.

"You need to sleep, Rose." He said, though he didn't make to move.

"Too scared to," She admitted. "Know I'll have nightmares. The Dalek said all those people were dead because of us, me and it. Don't think good dreams will come from that, yeah?"

He sighed. "Should tell you about this one time … no, that's not a good story. How about … how about I tell you about the time I met Isaac Newton and nearly had him discovering gravity in an entirely different way?"

"Sure," She smiled up at him.

At some point during his story, Rose fell asleep. When she woke from the threat of nightmare, she discovered the Doctor had fallen asleep as well. He had his arm around her, holding her to him, his face peaceful. She dared to shift closer, head on his chest, listening to the strange double rhythm of his hearts. She'd fallen asleep against his arm, on the jumpseat watching him work, but never like this. She'd never been so close to him when he seemed so vulnerable.

Mind thick with sleep, she remembered something the Dalek had said to the Doctor over the comm.

" _What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?"_

He didn't love her. She was nothing, a human, an ape. He was superior and amazing, and better than anything or anyone she'd every known. The Dalek had it backward, she loved him. Fiercely, in a way that she would never be able to say or prove. But it didn't matter, because like she had told Mickey, he was better than a boyfriend. Boyfriends weren't much of anything, now that she thought about it. Not from her experience.

She started to drift back to sleep on those thoughts. She felt the Doctor's arms tighten fiercely around her, and the last sounds she thought she heard was the sharp intake of breath as though he was just waking up.

~DWDWDW~

He was gone when she woke next, and she'd found herself hugging the pillow he'd slept on in his place.

And he kept his word. When they landed, the Doctor encouraged Adam to go grab a jumper while Rose and he scouted their surroundings.

"Rule three, always bring a jacket or a jumper. Might be a bit colder than you're expecting."

She could feel him watching her as she repeated what he told her to Adam. His pride in her was palatable, and it gave her a bit of a high.

She wasn't surprised when Adam fainted during the Doctor's explanation of the Earth before them. He'd seemed about ready to drop from the moment he stepped out the TARDIS.

"He's your boyfriend." The Doctor deadpanned.

"Not anymore." She replied, and after a moment she turned to catch his eye.

It took a second, but when she finally did, he was beaming.

"Better not tell him that. Faints at the sight of a planet, imagine how he'd take rejection." Then with a gesture to the lump on the floor. "Come on, let's get mister genius up and about, see the sights."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you to the readers, favoriters, and reviewers.

I said this on Tumblr, but I really wanted to write this for sometime, but couldn't find a way to do it. I like to keep my one shots canon compliant unless it's part of a series I've made, and the line "He's your boyfriend" had been tripping for a while.


End file.
